Bel Air officer struck by vehicle while directing traffic

KRISHANA DAVIS, kdavis@baltsun.com

A Bel Air police officer was transported to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore Wednesday after she was hit by a car at the intersection of Williams Street and Broadway while directing traffic at the scene of a fire investigation.

The officer was directing traffic to clear the way for firetrucks to respond to a small kitchen fire in an apartment in the 100 block of Nichols Street, according to Bel Air Fire Company Chief Rick Davis, who responded to the fire.

"The officer was directing traffic trying to let our fire trucks could get through," Davis said. Davis said Wednesday afternoon he did not know the nature of the officer's injuries.

Davis said the fire company was dispatched to the fire around 3:45 p.m. and sent three engines and a ladder truck to the scene.

"There really wasn't a fire," Davis said, adding, "The stove malfunctioned. There was some smoke coming out of the back of the apartment."

The young driver of the black Passat sedan, which struck the officer, said he did want to speak about the incident. He wiped away tears as he was being consoled by a woman at the scene. Employees of the nearby McComas Funeral Home, helped to console the visibly shaken driver.

Sgt. Jim Lockard, of the Bel Air Police Department, had no further updates as of early Wednesday evening.